The Remnats of Summer
by XmidnightxsecretsX
Summary: Sora wasn't looking for a relationship, but when he meets his soul mate, how will he handle his own devastating secret? It all leads to the secret, wonderful last summer. Soriku yaoi for those who likey!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first story on here! I did have another one, but I going to revamp it a little later, so…YAY! The nerves are killing me! Okay, not really. Oh well. Hope you enjoy!

Rating: M for later chapters, and some cursing

Summery: Sora wasn't looking for a relationship, but when he meets his soul mate, how will he handle his own devastating secret? It all leads to the secret, wonderful last summer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters… sadly (sobs hysterically)

...

**October 15, 2009**

To start this thing out, I guess honesty is the best policy. The only reason I'm writing in this… journal of sorts is because Mrs. _Rakshasi_ **(1) **was nice enough to buy the two hundred and some page notebook and the… neon pink fountain pen with the decorative feathers at the end. Don't ask why it's pink, or feathery for that matter. I'm starting to think she's suffering from dementia or something… yeah. So here I am, with nothing to do but write this journal and watch soap operas. Hurray for me. _'Who knows who will pick this up and read it. It might change their life.'_ Yeah, right… but I guess she has a point, in a weird, twisted way. I guess this could substitute for my Will… no, not really. No one would want anything of mine, I'm sure of that. It's all crap.

Time nowadays hasn't mattered much for me, it's just a blurred vestige of what it used to be in my peripheral vision. But every day, there's a slot of time between my check-ins, a few hours where I'm left to my own devises. I make sure I'm completely alone and open the small window beside my bed. Luckily they haven't taken the bug screens out yet and locked up the windows for winter. I sit on the edge of my bed and revel in the fresh air.

It's gotten colder by the day, but every once in a while, I can still feel the muggy heat of summer lingering in the wind. It makes me smile. I can still feel the warm sand under my feet, the stickiness of my sweat-drenched shirt. The memories have coalesced in my mind to form a hazy, beautiful mass of… something truly wonderful. Yeah, the last summer had been the best one of my seventeen years…

...

"Oh come _on_, Sora!"

I grumbled, but didn't move from my position by her Jeep. Sighing with a playful pout, Kairi ran back over to me to grab my hand and drag me to the beach. When my naked feet connected with the white-hot sand, I immediately ran for the water and thoroughly submerged my poor feet in the freezing liquid. I wanted to kill her. I truly did. Her and her sandal-clad feet.

She giggled behind her hand as she approached, carrying 'supplies', as she liked to call them, under her arm. She placed the blanket close to the water and propped the large umbrella beside it. Placing the cooler behind her, she plopped down and ushered me over. I mumbled under my breath one more time before long jumping to the blanket. She laughed at me again as I sat next to her.

"Wow, Sora, you really are a crackup!" I frowned deeply as her fit grew worse. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to figure out how I had gotten myself into this.

I had simply been minding my own business, sleeping peacefully, when my door flew into my wall, making a loud bang. I snapped out of sleep only to be dragged off my bed and into the hallway. She smiled innocently at me and shoved a pair of blue shorts in my face.

"Put this on and I'll meet you out here," she said with a sickly sweet smile. The smile itself should have raised a red flag, but I was still somewhat asleep. I took the shorts from her, freeing her hands so she could push me back into my room and slam the door behind me. I had just shaken my head. Everyone who knew Kairi was aware, and quite wary, of her rather… _forceful_ disposition. You just couldn't say no to her without walking away with a few bruises to commemorate the encounter. But I loved her anyway.

I had barely put on the shorts when, for the second in the span of five minutes, she burst into my room. She nodded at me with a sly smile when she saw the trunks on me, grabbed my hand and we flew down the stairs and out the front door. I was flung onto the passenger side door as Kairi skipped to the driver's side.

"Come on, Sor, we gots places to be!"

I sighed and opened the door of the rusty yellow Jeep. I hated when she talked like that, but I didn't comment as I slid in and she floored it.

That was another thing I hated. Kairi didn't drive, oh no, she _drag raced_. Half the time I was waiting for her to join NASCAR and be done with it already, but sadly, she didn't. So I was the one stuck with her insane driving.

We sped down main street and took Bastion Road out to Destiny Beach. I nearly flipped my lid when I saw the sign. She had drug me out of bed, nearly gave me two heart attacks, and was driving like a mad woman so I would go _swimming with her!_ My dearest, insufferable Kairi had done it again.

She parked in the rapidly filling parking lot and hopped out of the car.

And now here I was.

Her fit died down and she smiled up at me.

"I'm doing this because you need to relax and get out of the house." She said, using that secretive girly intuition thingy to know exactly what I was thinking. I sighed.

"You do realize that school ended just last week, right?"

She nodded slowly.

"Of course I do… but if I allow you to wall yourself up _now_, how will I get you out and about _later_?"

I groaned.

"That, my dear, is the five million dollar question."

She giggled at me and stretched. She stood and held out a hand for me. "Let's go swim."

I shook my head.

She groaned and stamped her foot. "Party pooper."

It was her turn to shake her head. She grabbed the hem of her purple sundress and yanked it off, revealing her lithe frame bared in a scanty, bright orange and yellow bikini. It was a head-turner all right… but for _all_ the wrong reasons.

I didn't even see her move, but suddenly my t-shirt was being tugged over my head and thrown onto the blanket. She grabbed my arm and hauled me over to the water. She stopped just as we reached the deep end and hooked my left arm over her shoulder. I was about to ask what she was doing when I was flipped over her back and into the sea. I came up sputtering and coughing out salt water.

"_What the hell was that!_" I screamed at the laughing Kairi.

"I've been taking Judo lessons." She struck a fighting posse. "Why, you likey?"

"No, not necessarily. It's just that I was thrown over your shoulder and would like to know how that happened." I stood slowly and paused for a moment before rushing her. She flitted back to the edge of the waves as I grabbed her arm and tried to throw her as she did to me. She must have dug her heels into the sand or something… at least, that's what I convinced myself to believe at the time. She laughed and turned the hold so that she was dragging me back into the water. She let go and dove under. I circled, looking in the water to make sure she didn't pull me under.

I briefly looked up from my defense and froze.

The sun stood half-mast, silhouetting a tall, bald man, who was staring at me. I silently groaned. It was just my luck to get the attention of a pedophile. I cursed my rotten luck. The man turned away from me and started setting up an umbrella. He laid down a blanket and sat in the shade. I gasped. He wasn't bald at all. No, his hair was platinum. So platinum it was _silver_. It took my breath away, as did those bright and thoughtful aquamarine eyes.

And he was staring at me again.

He was handsome with his full lips and arrogant Roman nose and chiseled jaw… and I was blabbering like a schoolgirl in my head. I didn't fully understand my attraction to the man, but as I stared at him, something in my chest shifted and slid home. I knew I had to talk to him, somehow, I just knew. I opened my mouth and moved closer to the sand when something cold hit the back of my head and drenched my spiky brown hair.

I turned to see Kairi giggling and backing away quickly.

"You're not getting away that easy," I mumbled, following after her. We sloshed through the water for a while before Kairi dove under and I followed, dragging her back up to the surface. With both of us hysterically laughing we began our long-winded water fight.

It was hours before we stopped, hindered by our rumbling stomachs. We walked up the beach to our blanket, arm in arm. I cast a quick glance over to the mystery man, but his towel and persons were missing. I suddenly felt like crying. I had wanted so badly to talk to him. It felt like I had missed something important.

Kairi sat down and picked out a club sandwich from the cooler. She tugged on my shirt, brows puckered in worry. I smiled at her and sat down as well, demolishing my own club that she held out to me…but I couldn't shake the feeling of unhappiness. After another hour Kairi and I drove back to town… nearly hitting three pedestrians and almost getting into a fender-bender on the way.

She dropped me off at my house, calling that she would see me tomorrow. I didn't answer, just waved over my shoulder as I walked through the front door. Mom was there to greet me. She had made my favorite, tacos, for dinner. I told her that I was whooped and headed to bed. She smiled and ruffled my hair before walking back to the kitchen.

I took a quick shower before flopping on my bed. I wasn't tired at all, I just didn't want to be around anyone at the moment. The whole situation with the mystery man was still bugging me. So with really nothing better to do, I looked around my room, even though my eyes were getting heavier by the second.

My room hadn't changed since I was twelve. The walls were still the same powder blue and my closet overflowing with clothing and other things. My small desk was very much cluttered with old homework and other pieces of torn, chewed and dusty papers. Above the desk was the large corkboard that I put pictures of friends, family and other things.

I sighed and rolled over, closing my eyes. I was surprised to feel the dreamy, weightlessness of sleep so soon. And so, I drifted off, with the vision of aquamarine behind my eyes.

...

The rest of the week was very much like Monday; Kairi banging through the house, dragging me out of bed, and taking me 'sightseeing'. When she told me that I snorted and said that there wasn't much to see. That earned me a slap on the head.

"Of course there are things to see… like the ever-perfect me!" She twirled her wine colored hair on her index finger, with a goofy smile. I laughed and she punched my arm.

We went shopping, out to lunch, and on Friday, antiquing. Yes, that's right… _antiquing_. I gave her a funky look when we pulled into parking lot.

"Oh, calm down," she said, waving her hand in my face. "Ma said she wanted a new painting, or something along those lines… so you'll just have to deal." We hopped out of the truck and stood by the front door.

"Why did I have to come with you again?" I asked rubbing my eyes.

"Because you love me." She pushed me towards the door. "Now get that butt a-movin'."

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Kairi bought two painting for her mother, one of a young women knitting, (_"Don't ask, she just likes that kinda stuff." Kairi grimaced) _and a second one of a field of wild flowers. I have to admit, I rather liked the second one.

I didn't buy anything for myself, or Mom. She has this weird complex when it comes to surprise gifts. But there were many nice things, like old vases and oil lamps, even an old writing desk with ink spots still on the roughened surface. It even came with an ink well and quills.

"You need that, Sor. I can see you now," Kairi's voice went dreamy and she stared off into space. I flicked her shoulder and ushered her forward.

She paid for the paintings and we ran to the car and quickly turned it on. We sighed in relief and reveled in the air-conditioning. Obviously, the people that built the shop didn't have their customers in mind when they failed to install an air-conditioning unit.

Kairi made as if the switch gears, but hesitated.

She sighed and turned to look at me. Her blue eyes were strangely haunted.

She cleared her throat.

"Um…ho- how've you… ya know…been?"

Time in the car seemed to stop as the hamsters that ran my brain began to jog.

"Fine, why?"

"Well, um," she rubbed the back of her neck absently. "Well, you know… it's just." My mind seemed to be working double time just to catch up to her thought process.

"Kairi? What's wrong?"

Her breath hitched as I rested my hand on her shoulder.

"How are the treatments going?"

For a second, I couldn't breath. I took my hand off her shoulder, and moved back in my seat. I couldn't seem to look her in the eyes.

"They start next week. I'll have them every other day in the morning." I flinched from the cold monotone of my voice.

"Oh."

We didn't look at each other as we sat in the silent car. Neither of us could say a word.

Her throat cleared. And in a rough voice she asked, "Can I stay at your house tonight?"

"Yeah."

She nodded and switched gears. We remained quiet as Kairi drove, surprisingly, by the speed limit. We reached my house and slowly got out of the Jeep, walking up the porch steps and into the foyer. Kairi went straight for the sitting room while I headed for the kitchen and got two Sprites from the fridge.

When I reached the sitting room I saw Kairi curled up on the couch and flipping through the On-Demand movies. I sat to her left and handed her the can of Sprite. She clicked on a movie and took the can from me.

We watched the movie in relative silence as it progressed. It was a real shoot-'em-up-because-he-killed-my-wife sort of movie. She always had been a big fan of this genre of cinema. Myself? Well, I will forever be a fan of any rom-com.

The only inclination I had that Kairi was about to say something was the uncomfortable shift of her shoulders.

"Um… I'm sorry about earlier. Ya know, with the whole-"

I cut her off quickly.

"It's fine, you didn't know. I won't hold it against you."

She laughed quietly, but stopped short and licked her lips nervously.

"C-can I ask you something?" Her voice was hesitant.

"Sure, what's up?"

I turned to look at her. She was staring into my eyes, seemingly to look for something.

"Will you go out with me?"

My mind and body froze with surprise.

"Um… what?"

She didn't answer, but moved forward, bringing her lips closer to mine. I unfroze and turned at the last minute. Her expectant lips landed on my cheek. Her felt her eyelashes flutter for a moment before moving back.

For the second time I turned to look at her.

She sat on her legs, hands between her knees. Her eyebrows pinched and her lips parted.

"What's wrong?"

I stayed silent, and my silence was obviously more painful of a rejection then words would ever be.

She sucked in a breath and quickly turned so I couldn't see her eyes. I moved to comfort her, but she batted my hand away. Her face was red and her smile was strained when she turned back to me.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid. Of course you're not looking for a relationship right now. Silly me." I opened my mouth to explain to her why I said no, but she waved her hand and stood.

She chuckled humorlessly and moved to stand under the alcove. She turned and rested her hand on the wall. The light from the kitchen haloed around her.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" And she was gone. I heard the distant snap of the closing door.

I stood and shuffled over to the window, slitting the curtains so I could peek outside.

Kairi stood with her back to me, but you could tell her hands covered her face by the scrunched posture of her shoulders.

She shook her head, got into the Jeep and drove off. I sighed and clicked off the movie. I stood in the center of the sitting room for a long time, just thinking.

Kairi and I had first met in the fourth grade. She had transferred from somewhere on the mainland. The teacher had pulled her up to the front of the class and asked her to tell a little about herself. You could see the fear in her eyes as she stammered and blushed. My friends, Hayner, Roxas, Pence and I sat next to each other and we all agreed that we would invite her to sit with us during lunch.

"I near cried with relief!" Kairi had later told me about our proposition. She got along well with the last member of our little gang, Olette, who was in a different class. And tt didn't take her long to get accustomed to the new environment. She quickly became everyone's friend and was the little entertainer of the group. She told us stories about her old town and friends, even family stories that had everyone cracking up.

But as time moved on, she gravitated more towards me. We were best friends and did everything together, which, in the eighth grade brought about the rumors. Everyone besides our group of friends thought that we were going out. Kairi herself did nothing to quell the whispers. In fact, in a strange way, she seemed to enjoy it.

I groaned and slapped my forehead. That was because she liked me! God, I could be so stupid sometimes. But it made me wonder how long she had this crush on me.

_That's a good question, but you were too stupid to realize it before…so who knows?_ I growled and hit my head again.

Okay, so letting your inner voice get to you is _so_ not a healthy sign.

I sighed and headed upstairs. After a quick shower I lay on my bed and stared at my ceiling, but only seeing Mr. Silver ( I had to give mystery man a name). I groaned and rolled over. I was getting a little creeped at my obsession with him. But it seemed involuntary to think of him… it came naturally. Wondering about his name, or what he's doing or if he was going to my school in the fall.

I really wanted to see him again. I feel asleep and dreamed that we had been dancing in an old-timey ball, him in a dashing tuxedo, and me in a floor length, pure white ball gown.

...

Destiny Islands is a relatively small patch of land just outside of Hollow Bastion, Massachusetts, connected only by one bridge, oddly named Disney Bridge.

Destiny Islands could be classified as a tourist trap, with its many shops and 'authentic wares'. I've lived here my whole life, and I can tell you… the only thing I ever liked were my friends and the sunsets.

So, there I was, running down Main Street trying to find an obscure little coffee shop. After walking on eggshells all weekend waiting for the call from Kairi, she finally called on Sunday and told me to meet her at Sonny's, the new café that opened in town, at ten. I left the house at eight- forty, and at nine-thirty, I still can't find the stupid place.

"Trust me, they have great cinnamon rolls!" Yeah, right. I'll know that only when I get there, if I ever find it!

I growled and ran a hand absently through my spikes, looking up and down the road. The streets were already crowded, but the people gave you a wide berth, especially if you had a murdering glint in your eyes.

I came close to throwing my cell phone at a passing car when I saw a bright green sign. 'Sonny's Café', it read.

I sighed with relief and hissed out a 'Yesssss!' of triumph. A few people passing by looked at me oddly and continued on with a relatively faster gait.

I looked both ways before J walking across the road and up to the door to Sonny's. A bell above the door jingled as I entered.

"Hi, welcome to Sonny's, what can I get for you today?" The voice was smooth and deep, almost a lullaby in its cadence.

"Um, yeah, I'll have a cup of black coffee and a cinnamon roll." I had been looking up at the order board but looked down when I heard the hiss of the coffee machine… and froze completely. Mr. Silver placed a white mug and paper encased roll in front of me. All I could see was aquamarine framed by silver. I hadn't realized how long his hair actually was until that moment. His bangs rested on eyelids and the rest fell past his shoulders, almost to the middle of his back. His full lips quirked into a small smile that made my heart flutter dangerously.

"That will be seven dollars, please." I quickly fished in my back pocket for my wallet. I gave a small shout of glee when my fingertips grazed the worn leather.

I yank it out and handed him a five and two ones. Our fingers touched as the money was exchanged, and I nearly fainted.

I was shaking when I finally sat down at an empty table to wait for Kairi. I took a sip off my coffee and looked over the rim of the cup to see him. He was shaking with laugher, one long-fingered hand covering those perfectly kissable lips, and I shook my head. I shouldn't have been thinking about that sort of thing… but I couldn't stop myself.

To keep my mouth occupied, I took a bite of the cinnamon roll… and died in ecstasy. It was absolutely _sinful_ in its goodness. I know, I sound like a girl right now, but I don't care, it was just too good.

It didn't take me long to finish it and I sighed in contentment.

"Hey, Riku, go help Tiff in back, ya hear?" My ears perk up and I slyly looked out of my peripheral vision to see Mr. Silver stand straight and walk through the small door behind him.

I turned back to stare at my coffee.

_Riku_.

The man I'm obsessed with is named Riku.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" I nearly fell out of my chair as Kairi seated herself opposite me, staring unabashed. I waved off the question.

"Don't worry about it."

I hesitated before going on.

"How've you been?"

She shrugged. "Fine. Not much going on… but I did want to apologize for Friday."

I opened my mouth but she put a finger over my lips.

"No, really. At a time like this, you wouldn't want to deal with a cloying girlfriend." She smiled slightly and patted my hand.

Conversation came easily after that. We talked about every little thing we could. I could tell she was scrambling to repair any damage done. I didn't bother to tell her that she didn't have to.

We were talking heatedly about the pros and cons of belly-button rings when her pants vibrated. She jumped and pulled out her cell, grimacing. She flipped it open and nodded to herself, seeming to have confirmed something.

She rested her elbow on the table and grunted out 'yeses' and 'I can take care of that laters'.

After a deep sigh she hung up.

"Sorry, Sor, I gotta get going. Ma's having a fit." She tucked the phone away and kissed my cheek quickly before skipping out the door with a wave. I sighed and rested my head on my arm. I was quite content to just stay there forever. I mean, hell. I was a few feet away from the male Aphrodite, there were plenty of scrumptious cinnamon rolls to eat… and did I mention Riku?

Beautiful, tall, wonderful-

"Hi."

I jumped and sat up straight as quickly as I could, only to be met by bright aquamarine.

Riku shifted in the chair Kairi had recently vacated, his long hair draped behind the back of the seat and arms crossed naturally.

After a moment of staring I squeaked out a 'Hi' as well.

His lips quirked up into a small smile as he introduced himself.

"I'm Riku, it's nice to meet you."

"You, too," I replied before catching myself and shaking my head.

"Sora. I'm Sora."

Riku's smile widens and he leans forward to rest his crossed arms on the table.

"I know this is kind of sudden, I'm new here and I could really use a tour guide around town. You seem to be a fun guy, so would you mind-"

"Yes!" I said loudly, cutting him off. "I would love to!"

Riku chuckled and scratched his cheek with a thumb.

"Thanks. This is really going to help me out, and it's always nice to make a new friend."

I blushed deeply before grabbing a napkin and furiously scribbling my phone number.

"This is my number. Call whenever you need me."

I set the napkin in his outstretched hand and he stands up.

"Back to work," is his explanation as he slowly backed away and positioned himself behind the counter.

…...

I'm thoroughly giddy as I skipped home, a huge smile plastered on my face. I thought about turning and heading over to Kairi's to fall at her feet and praise her in all her quirky glory, but stopped when I saw the hulking shadow sitting on the front porch of my house.

...

Alright guys and gals! There it is, the first chapter… sweet lordy it's really long… totally didn't mean for that to happen O.o

Oh well!

And if you found any, sorry for the typos.

Remember!: Reviews are my Oreos and milk… and free cookies for every one! ;)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey everyone! The second chapter is here! Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and before I forget, I put a tag on the name Mrs. Rakshasi in the first chapter. The word rakshasi comes from Hindu mythology meaning female demon. So basically, Sora is calling his head nurse a demon.

Anyway, on to the story! And remember, flames are for roasting marshmellows

….

October 17, 2009

I scowl again at the rakshasi sitting in the corner of my room reading a paperback romance novel. Her thin lips are twisting up at the ends.

She's saying something about writing. No, wait, the sentence isn't done yet….

Yep, it was about my notebook. Mom had mentioned it the last time she visited. The demon had then told her I was using it to right down a story. I'm scowling harder and it's starting to hurt my face.

Mrs. Wilkins the demon is looking up at me now.

I try to evade the subject, rambling about my meds… or something along those lines. She's looking at the clock now and mutters something like 'it's just about that time'.

She pats my foot and I move it away from the touch.

_Now_ I'm happy. The door is closed and she's headed for wherever they keep the pills.

I just opened the window and I shiver.

I really hate to admit it, but I feel kinda bad that the demon is ignoring her other duties to watch over me.

I heard her talking to doc Miya this morning. She's worried that I'll have another episode like yesterday.

I spent almost the entire day with my head in the toilet.

Wilkins had just given me my pills, when all of a sudden, I was vaulting over the bedrails and pushing past her, headed for the attached bathroom. She had sat on the rim of the tub as I purged, her knotted hand holding out a Dixie cup of water when I was done and a gentle 'rinse and spit'.

She paged doctor Miya and told her to come look me over. But not even five minutes later I was back hugging my good friend Mr. Toilet.

Anyway, back to the story I'm _supposed_ to be writing.

…

My hand fell onto the fence as I paused. The head of the figure moved and I opened my mouth to call out, but only air escaped.

The shadow stood up and moved off the porch towards me. I took a step back and twisted my torso around, considering how long of a head start I could get. But just as the thought crossed my mind the figure took off in a sprint and vaulted over the fence.

In a fluid movement, it slowed down and picked me up to give me a bear hug and twirl me around; my face effectively squashed to a broad and musclely chest. All I could do was make a squeaky sound in the back of my throat.

…I'm still ashamed of that.

The jerk tickled my ear as he chuckled and held on tighter. I squirmed in his arms and pulled my face back a little so I could breathe.

He finally pulled back to look me in the eyes with a bright smile.

"Hey, Sor. What's up?"

I looked down at the pavement with a grimace and dangled my feet uselessly.

"I am."

Leon looked down as well and then back up to me.

"So you are. How's the weather?" He asked sincerely.

"I don't know," I replied sourly. "You're always up at this elevation, so you tell me."

Leon gave me a mock pout and tsked.

"That's no way to talk to your big brother, Sora. I deserve a little bit of respect, you know."

I laughed.

"Oh, you mean like the time you snuck into mom's room, took one of her dresses and did a little show for me?"

Leon scowled.

"Hey, I only did that because you had the flu and had been in bed for almost a week. I thought you could use a laugh."

I laughed again and shook my head. As much of a goof as he was, I missed my brother. I'd never admit it though. Oh, wait…

Still smiling, I looked pointedly at the ground, then back up to Leon. He took the hint and sat me down. Of course, I had to crane my neck to look up at him.

Leon stood almost three heads taller than me. I mean, I'm only five feet three inches, but both my parents are around six feet. How do things like this happen?

Leon ran a hand through his brown hair and looked back towards the house.

"Mom's making meatloaf," he informed me as he turned back. "We should probably head in."

I nodded as Leon wrapped an arm around my shoulders and lead me up to the house and into the foyer.

Dad popped his balding head around the corner as Leon closed the door.

"Hey, Sora! We were wondering when you would get back. How was your day?"

"Fine," I say, heat creeping up the collar of my shirt. I thought back to Riku and shook my head.

Leon moved around me and took a left into the kitchen, following the mouthwatering scent that was slowly filling up the house.

I followed Leon as Dad's head popped back into the sitting room.

Mom stood at the sink, washing green beans and pointing Leon towards a large bowel sitting on the island counter. I walked over to stand on my tiptoes to kiss her cheek and she smiled at me.

"Hi, sweetie. How was your day?"

"Fine," I say again, feeling the heat come back.

"That's nice. Would you mind helping your brother set the table? I'm scared he's going drop something. You know how clumsy he can be."

"Mom," came Leon indignant whine from the cupboards. "I'm right here."

Mom chuckled and pushed soft blonde waves away from her face.

"Don't worry Ma," I said, patting her back. "I'll help him out."

As I turned to grab the bowel of mashed potatoes, Leon karate chopped my hand onto the counter and grabbed the bowel. I made to reach for the gravy boat, but he did the same thing again.

I rubbed my hand and looked up at his narrowed, challenging blue eyes. I scowled and reached for the forks and knives. Again, although he had a hard time of it, my hand was karate chopped and Leon picked up the utensils.

"How am I supposed help you when you do stuff like that?" I asked his back as he walked over to the table and sat everything down.

"Your not," was his deadpanned reply.

I sighed and moved back to Mom.

"Be prepared for broken dishes," I warned her in a low voice as Leon grabbed a stack plates.

She sighed and shook her head.

"I love that boy to death, but sometimes…" she turned her head in time to see Leon stumble and right himself quickly. She shook her head again.

A few minutes, and a few stumbles later, we all were sitting at the table.

Mom cleared her mouth and looked over at me, her blue eyes sparkling.

"So, how's Kairi?"

"She's okay," I replied, spearing a few green beans.

Mom paused a moment before charging in.

"She's a nice girl, Kairi. And you've known her for quite some time now."

"Um, yeah." My gut was telling me to evacuate _now_ but it was have raised a few eyebrows if I suddenly jumped up and ran for the door.

She kept pressing.

"Maybe you two could go to a movie sometime. Or maybe out to dinner."

I squirmed uncomfortably and shoveled mashed potatoes into my mouth to keep from having to answer.

"I'm thinking of staying here for a few weeks." Leon suddenly cut in.

I looked over at Leon as Mom and Dad commented on how nice that will be. He smiled slightly and peeked at me through his peripheral vision.

I smiled at him and dug back into my food.

"By the way," Dad said, pointing his fork at Leon. "How's Cloud doing? Haven't seen that boy in a while."

"Pissed," Leon chuckled. "He got roped into going on this road trip type thing with his family. He'd be here if it wasn't for that."

Mom laughed and waved a hand.

"I remember _all_ of my family road trips. They were horrendous!"

And with that, conversation took off. I didn't join in, just looked around the table at my family; Mom, with her soft blonde hair and bright smile, holding hands with the man she _still_ loved, even though he was slowly losing his brown hair and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners with age.

I smiled and sat back, completely content.

…..

Mom sat back on her heels and wiped her forehead, sending water from her cleaning rag flying.

Earlier that morning, Mom had cornered Leon and I and asked if we wouldn't mind helping her with a few things. Like the idiots we were, we said we'd help out.

She had dispatched Leon through out the house to vacuum and dust. I hadn't seen much of him. Mom had me helping clean the bathrooms.

With a groan, I stood up from my crouch and stretched my back, banging my elbow on the shampoo rack in the tub. I scowled at it and looked over at Mom.

"Bathtub's clean," I said, stepping out and nearly falling over when my knee cracked.

Mom gave the sink faucet and good scrub before turning with a smile to thank me.

"While I get the mirrors, would you scrub the toilet?"

My face fell and gave a whiney sigh. Mom shook her head and grabbed my arms, slowly leading me over to the toilet and patting my arms.

I leaned down to grab the toilet brush and cleaner. After a good squirt of the nose tickling cleaner, I started to scrub, the water and foam sloshing against the sides and onto the rim. I quickly moved out of the way as some water landed on the floor where my foot had been.

There was a knock on the door, cutting off Mom's laughter. I looked up and my brows scrunched involuntarily.

Leon stood in the doorway, a bright yellow bandana on his head to keep his bangs off his face. Even though he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, he had rolled them up onto his shoulders, revealing toned biceps. He had even rolled up his pant legs.

"All the rooms are vacuumed and dusted," he said, scratching a cheek. "Except Sora's."

I looked at him carefully and he shuddered.

"It… was just so _messy!_ There were… papers and socks and underwear _everywhere!_ I swear I saw something moving around in his closet. My roommate is a messy pig, but this," he shook his head and shuddered again.

I scowled at him as leaned against the doorjamb.

"You're on your own with that one little bro."

I gave him a disgusted look as Mom turned to me.

"Sora, how many times do I have to tell you to clean your room?"

I glared at Leon over Mom's head.

"Oh well, you and Leon will have to clean it sometime this week."

It's Leon's turn to glare at me. I smiled and stuck my tongue out at him.

I started to walk out but Mom called out.

"Will you boys go and put a load of laundry in the machine?"

"Sure thing Ma!" Leon replied, tugging my shirt and dragging me down the hall.

"Hey! What-"

"We have just about five minutes to get the _fuck_ out of here before Mom realizes we left," Leon explained in a whisper as he manhandled me down the stairs.

When we reached the landing he set me down but grabbed my wrist.

"What about the laundry?" I asked as we reached the kitchen.

He took a moment to stop and stare at me, his wide eyes incredulous.

"You really want to keep doing housework for that psycho?"

"Well, no," I replied, rubbing the back of my head and feeling guilty.

He tugged my wrist and we fast walked into the back room.

"We'll have to run to my car. It's just outside the garage."

We moved past the washing machine and Leon opened the back door, waving me through. My bare feet hit the wet grass and I shivered.

Leon quickly closed the door behind us and took off in a run towards the garage.

"Leon!" I hissed before sprinting to catching up to him.

He was already in the car and started the engine when I caught up.

"Hurry, Sora!"

I wrenched open the door and jumped in as Leon hit the gas and we were propelled backward. I closed the door and buckled my seat belt as we hit the road, Leon shifted gears and we went flying forward.

We were a good two blocks away before Leon slowed down and stopped at an intersection.

There's silence in the car until Leon turned to me and smiles.

"I don't know about you, Sor, but I'm starving."

I look down at my feet then back to Leon.

"I don't have any shoes on."

He gave me a disgusted look as he pushed off his bandana.

"It's called drive through for a reason."

…

Leon took a large bite of his burger, his cheeks pushed out from the food. I couldn't help but feel disgusted as I looked at him. I put my French fries down and sighed.

"So why don't you want to date Kairi?" He finally asked around his burger.

I shrug and hold up one fry.

"Just… doesn't seem right," I said, twirling the fry. "If I did, it would feel contrived."

Leon shook his head and ruffled my hair.

"You and your big words," he said affectionately.

I waved off his hand and sat back.

"You do have a point, though," he continued. "But can you really blame them? Hell, if I had a say I would hogtie to a chair and force you to date."

I laughed and shook my head.

"When did you become such a sentimentalist?"

"That day at the hospital. The one when Dad picked me up and pointed to my little brother." He's smiling at the end and my own smile is threatening to break out.

I waved my hand in his face and changed the subject.

"Is Cloud really on a road trip, or did you just say that for the parentals?"

Leon laughed loudly and set his burger down.

"Yeah. You should have seen his face when he found out. _Priceless!_ But he really had been planning on coming up."

I smiled and thought back. Leon had left for college two years ago and the first friend he made had been Cloud, a fiercely proactive bad boy blonde who was very fond of piercings and swearing. For the longest time, all we heard about were the shenanigans the two got into.

Last Christmas, Leon had brought Cloud to the house and the entire family had fallen in love with him. I really should have noticed the way that they looked at each other. But I didn't, not until I opened the bathroom door to find them shirtless and making out against the sink.

I promised them I wouldn't until they were ready to come out.

It was a month later that Leon sat down with Mom and Dad and told them he was gay. He had given them a moment to absorb that, and then said he was dating Cloud. They had taken better then we had thought they would. Certainly better than they had that day…

I shook my head and looked over to Leon. He took another bite of his burger and chewed slowly.

"He says hi, by the way."

I raised an eyebrow and Leon shrugged.

"He's worried about you, hopes your doing okay and wants to give you a big hug."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"He really is like a second brother."

"He will be soon enough."

I paused before going on.

"What do you mean?"

Leon looks down at the burger on his lap.

"When we graduate, we're going down to the courthouse to get a partnership license. We're thinking of moving somewhere around here, somewhere close."

"Huh," I said after a moment. "Wasn't expecting that."

Leon laughed.

"Sor, we've been together for two years. I love the man…. Not to mention the great sex."

I really had though it was safe to eat, I really did, but as soon as he said that potato went flying.

He quickly patted my back and asked if I was okay. I was going to tell him off, but my phone vibrated. I fished it out, cringing. It was probably Mom.

But no, it was a text from an unknown number. My eyebrows scrunched as I hit the READ NOW option.

_This is Riku. Can u talk?_

My face flared and I hid my phone in my lap. Leon poked my face and asked why I was blushing, but I just shook my head. He tried a few more times in vain until I squeaked out that I wanted to go home.

He sighed dramatically, but complied and drove home. He left the empty food bag in the car and I ran straight towards my room, phone clutched tightly in my fist.

I ran past Dad on the way upstairs, but ignored his greeting.

I slammed the door behind me when I got to my room and fell onto my bed. I quickly pulled up my inbox and retrieved his message. I saved the number in my phone book and saved it as Silver.

I replied to the message and waited.

Hey riku, wats up

A moment passed.

_Not much, just wondering about the festival coming up._

I blinked and cursed. I had completely forgotten that the Gummi festival was in two days.

Wat r u wondering bout

_If you wanted to show me around then?_

My heart stutters then slams into my ribcage.

_Sure I don't mind_

_Cool ;)_

As cliché as it felt, I hugged the phone to my chest and giggled, kicking my feet out and smiling widely.

_Meet me at Sonny's round 3. we'll go then._

_Sounds good see you then_

I bit my lip and closed my phone as someone knocked on my door, but I just rolled over and buried my face into my pillow, thinking about the festival.

….

At two-thirty, I sat on a bus bench, waiting for Riku's shift to be over. For most of yesterday, as Mom had put it, I had been 'floating' around with a dazed smile on my face. Leon had made a crack about flower petals and clouds swirling around my feet.

I shook my head and stuffed my hands deeper into my pockets. I felt slightly guilty. Kairi had called and asked if I wanted to go to the festival with her. But when I said I had a date she quickly made a flimsy excuse about her dog. I doubted that there would ever be easy footing with us now.

A hand on my shoulder made me jump and I tilted my head to see who it was.

"The boss let me off early, let's go."

I blinked like an idiot for a moment before jumping up and heading in the direction of the flashing lights.

"Thanks for doing this," Riku said after a minute of silence.

"N-not a problem," I replied, rubbing the back of my head.

Riku chuckled and brought his shoulders up in a shrug.

"It's nice, none-the-less."

His shrug had brought my attention to his appearance. A loose fitting white t-shirt and slightly snug jeans covered his tall, lithe frame. He had even tied back his long hair.

I looked away quickly as heat crawled around my face.

We reached the festival and made quick work of visiting all the important (food) stands and played a few games. I was surprised that we hadn't run into any of my friends.

"Wow, there are a lot of people here. I've never seen town so crowded," Riku said, suddenly right behind me.

I turned to answer and nearly fainted when my lips almost brushed his, he was that close to me.

"Um, yeah," I replied, trying to sound nonchalant; but on the inside, my heart had completely stopped and my stomach was doing summersaults. "Gets like this every year."

I turned away quickly and motioned for him to follow. We moved through the dense crowd and stopped at the outskirts. I sighed and looked down the main road.

Riku was looking back the way we cam when I grabbed his arm.

"Hey, how about I show you my favorite spot on the island, 'kay?"

I didn't wait for an answer, but just dragged him away. Of course I wouldn't see my friends in the thick crowd, they were always just outside the hubbub.

I lead Riku through the maze of trails that opened up to the beach. But I didn't stop there. I took him up the stairs to the lifeguard tower and walked across the bridge to the small plateau just beside the beach.

I took a deep breath and sat on the curved palm tree that leaned over the water.

I heard a chuckle and turned to see Riku look at the trees.

"Why can't you get up here from the beach?"

I smiled then and gave a small laugh.

"Probably because too many people were hurting themselves to get a paopu fruit."

"A what?" Riku asked, sitting beside me.

I smiled and shook my head.

"As the island legend goes, there was an old couple that lived on the beach," I started, pointing back towards the sand. "They loved each other very much, but the wife suddenly died and left her husband with nothing. Well, one day, the old man woke up and found a note on his wife's pillow."

"And what did this note say?" Riku asked slyly.

"It said that if he planted the seeds his wife had been saving, her love would come back to him."

"And did it?"

"I'm getting there," I said before clearing my throat. "Anyway, the man planted the seeds like the note said, but his wife never came back. But, as the trees grew, young couples would come and eat the star shaped fruit together… and that's when he realized what the note meant."

Riku's eyebrows formed a line as he looked at me.

"The note never said his wife would come back, but for every couple that ate the fruit, he saw the same devotion and unconditional love he had shared with his wife. So her love really did come back to him."

Riku tilted his head and look out at the greenish-blue waves.

"That's a sweet story."

"Yeah, and as the story goes, if you share a paopu with the person you love, you'll be together forever."

"Forever?"

I nodded.

"Forever."

Riku suddenly looked up at the treetops.

"That girl you were with the other day. Is she your girlfriend?"

I groan and shake my head.

"Why does every think that?"

"You just seemed close," Riku said in a thoughtful tone.

I looked over at him and he shrugged. I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

…..

Riku dropped me off at home a few hours later.

"This was fun," he said with a smile. "And thank you for the story. It was… interesting."

"You're welcome," I replied.

We stood there for a moment in awkward silence.

"Would it be alright if we did something tomorrow?" Riku asked quietly.

"Sure," I said in a soft voice. "I'd like that."

I looked up to see him nod, and suddenly, I was enveloped in long arms. I blinked a few times before wrapping my arms around him as well.

When we pulled back I waved and headed inside.

When the door closed behind me, I slumped against it and giggled. Mom choose that moment to walk past. She paused and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you have a good time?"

…..

A/N: Chapter two! Yes! It's finally done! Hope you all liked!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey everyone! Chapter three… holy crap. I never thought I would get past the first chapter. But there you go, don't ever say that word.

Anyway, I want to thank all of you who reviewed! And as promised… cookies!

Kairi: Hey! Aren't those mine?

Midnight: …

Kairi: (snort) That's what I thought.

…

October 18, 2009

God, these meds are starting to mess with my head. I was looking back at what I've written so far, and suddenly the words were blurring and meshing together.

I had freaked; scrubbing my eyes and tossing the notebook to the foot of the hospital bed. It had scared Mom shitless. Even Mrs. Wilkins had been startled.

But the worst of it is, I'm so_ tired_. I'm always falling asleep at noon, then crash for the night at seven. _Seven!_ No sane teenager goes to bed at _seven_. But Mom's ecstatic about it. She says that meds are finally kicking in and that my body's healing.

Yeah, healing. That's _exactly_ what my body's doing.

And Mom is expecting that I write a journal entry everyday, so that in some non-existing future I can look back at them and be grateful that I survived this.

I don't have the heart to tell her that this is going to be it for me.

….

Mom pulled back my bed covers early the next morning.

I tried to burrow back under them as sunlight hit my face in the most unpleasant way. I felt like hissing and screaming 'the light! It buuurrrrrnnnnnsssss!'.

Mom moved my bangs off my forehead and sat down next to me.

"Sora, it's time to wake up."

"No. You can go whack a mole," I groaned, rolling over to burry my face in the mattress.

I heard her sigh. And then, with a strength I never knew she had, she picked me up and set my feet on the ground.

She put her small hands on my shoulders and looked me in the face.

"Sora, sweet heart, don't you remember? We have to go to the hospital today. Your appointments start this morning."

I cringed, looking away.

I _had_ forgotten. But can you blame me? With Riku as the fodder for mind-numbing fantasies, who _would_ remember about the treatments that might just save your life?

Mom touched the side of my face with a slight smile.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Is not killing me an option?"

It worked. She laughed and pulled me into a hug. I snuggled my face into her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her waist. I closed my eyes as the familiar scent of jasmine and vanilla filled my senses.

She pulled back to kiss my forehead and pat my cheek.

"Get dressed. I have breakfast ready for you downstairs."

I nodded and she pushed my bangs out of my face one last time before smiling and walking out, closing the door behind her.

I stared at the door for a moment, hearing her heeled sandals click as she went down the stairs.

I shook my head and leaned down to grab a random assortment of items and throw them on.

I was slow moving downstairs, the smell of eggs and bacon the only thing motivating my feet. And somehow, I still managed to stumble and almost fell flat on my face on the last step.

Mom was at the stove when I got to the kitchen. She turned and smiled at me, pointing to a plate on the island counter filled with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I picked it up and moved it to the table. I sat down and contemplated a moment before standing and going to the fridge.

Dad mumbled from behind his open newspaper, snapping it every once in a while. He finally closed it and violently slapped it on the table.

Mom sighed.

"Dan, why do you pick up the paper if you know something is going to make you act like that?"

"Sorry, Laney," Dad replied, rubbing his face. "But it's these political scandals. They're getting ridiculous!"

There was a grunt from the hall and I turned in time to see Leon stumble into the kitchen.

I raised an eyebrow at the coffee mug clutched in his hand as Mom greeted him.

He merely scowled and reached for the coffee pot. His cup proclaimed, in big red letters, 'No Talking Until I've Had Two Cups'. There was even a mean looking bulldog near the handle that's face had been frozen mid-growl.

He filled the mug to the rim and took a long draught.

Did I mention that my brother is a morning person?

Mom looked over to him with a small frown and muttered something that sounded like 'save some for the rest of us'.

I shook my head and sat at the table with my milk. Dad sighed at the paper before turning to me.

"So what were you planning on doing today?"

I blinked, remembering that I had promised to spend time with Riku today.

My stomach flipped as I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not much. Just hanging out with a friend."

"Kairi?" Mom asked as she finally sat down with her own breakfast.

I looked at the empty space across from me before turning to see Leon still standing at the counter, chugging coffee.

I looked back at Mom to see her watching Leon in distaste.

"No, it's a new friend," I replied.

She turned to me and smiled. "That's nice. Will we to meet this new friend?"

I shrugged.

"Sure."

She smiled again and started on her breakfast. I followed suit, slowing my chewing and wincing when Leon suddenly proclaimed, "There's no more coffee."

Mom sighed and rested her forehead in her hand.

….

As usual, the smell of the hospital stung my nose. I looked over to Leon to see his own nose wrinkle in distaste.

Both of us had grown to hate hospitals with an intense passion.

I sighed and watched my checkered Vans on the boring green carpet of the waiting room.

Mom patted my knee before going back to reading her newest classic book find. I looked at the worn cover and sighed again.

Leon suddenly chuckled and I turned to see him holding his cell phone. I raised an eyebrow and he turned the screen to me so I could see the picture.

Cloud sat in the front seat of a van with a scowl. In the back seat, three tow-headed children, and whom I could only assume was his mother, appeared to be clapping and singing. Leon scrolled down to show me the caption under the picture.

"_Dear Lord help me."_

Leon and I broke out into giggles and earned a few odd looks from Mom and Dad. Even a few nurses that walked by stopped to give us odd looks.

Leon pulled up a message screen and typed.

Srry babe. No can do

It was a moment before Cloud replied.

See if u get sex for a year

Leon shook his head and sighed.

U cant even go a week w/o sex. But I don't get any for a year?

Cloud's reply was only one word.

…_fuck_

I shook my head with a smile as Leon texted him back. Cloud and Leon matched a little too well.

"Sora Bennett?"

I looked up to see a young blonde nurse in blue scrubs reading the clipboard in her hand.

Mom stood first, turning and grabbing my hand so we could walk together.

The nurse gave us a strained smile and lead us through the swinging door into the emergency room. We walked a little ways until we got to the nurses station.

She told us to stay where we were and that she would get the doctor. I noticed that her gaze lingered on Leon just a little too long. When she was out of earshot, I leaned closer to him.

"The nurse was totally just checking you out."

Leon scrunched his eyebrows and looked after before shaking his head.

"No way."

I snorted at him.

"Yes way. You attract more straight women then a department store."

Leon gave me a withering look.

"That was a horrible comparison."

I opened my mouth to retort, but the blonde nurse popped in and said that Doctor Miya would be here soon.

I held back a sigh and looked around the nurse to see a tall woman with flaming red curls beeline for our little group.

When she reached us, she greeted the nurse and turned to my mother, full lips parting in a smile and long fingered hand reaching out.

"Hello, Mrs. Bennett, I'm Doctor Miya. Pleasure to meet you."

"You, too, doctor."

Miya shook hands with Dad, then turned to me. Through her square, black-framed glasses, I saw green. The kind of green that reminded me of another pair of eyes I would be seeing later.

"And you must be Sora."

"Hi," I said, shaking her hand.

"Hello. I'm Lauren Miya, and I'll be attending physician from now on."

"Cool," I replied. Leon kicked the side of my foot with his _steel-toed boot_. My left eye twitched for a moment as I held in the pain that was radiating up my knee.

Didn't want to be pussy footed in front of the new doc.

Miya waved us into an empty room and explained the procedure to us. All I heard was IV.

I hate needles. Hate them so much.

She excused herself for a moment to grab the supplies and I perched myself on the exam table, laying back.

Mom moved a chair to my left side and held my hand with a weak smile. Dad and Leon sat side by side in the chairs by the door. Leon's elbows were resting on his knees as his fingers laced together and covering his mouth.

I looked up at the ceiling a waited.

Miya came back quickly with an older nurse, introducing her as Mrs. Wilkins.

Said nurse brought in one of those fluid bag racks and wheeled it up to me. There was already a bag on it and I felt my innards shrivel.

Suddenly there was a needle close to my face and the demon nurse grabbed my right arm and felt around for a moment.

"This is going to hurt a little bit. Try to be still," she commanded when she found what she had been looking for.

The demon wiped a cleaning cloth over the crook of my elbow and I opened mouth to say that I didn't like needles, but suddenly there was pain, bad pain.

I looked down to see the tube being taped to my skin. A little blood was oozing out around the opening. My eyes watered as I squeaked.

Miya was quick to comfort me, saying that the worst part was being stuck and the pain would go away. But it didn't, not really. I could _feel_ whatever chemical they were pumping into me _moving_ into my vain.

I turned to Mom helplessly. I must have looked terrified, because she held my hand tighter and caressed my cheek.

"It's okay, Sora. It's okay."

I looked at Dad's apologetic grimace and Leon's red face.

He suddenly stood and moved toward the door, saying something about needing a bathroom. A lump formed in my throat at the hoarseness in his voice.

This treatment wasn't going to make me better. It was going to kill my family.

….

Hours later, I was still rubbing the sore spot that the gauze covered up. Mom scowled and batted my hand away every time I tried to take the medical tape off.

"But it's pulling my arm hair!" I finally whined as Mom popped a DVD into the player.

"I don't care," she said, sitting next to me. "I don't want it to get infected. And weren't you going to hang out with the new friend?"

The left side of my mouth drooped down and I looked out of the open window nervously.

I had gotten a text from Riku after the hospital fiasco. He said he would pick me up at my place. But now I wondered if he even remembered where I lived.

I settled deeper into the couch cushions and touched the outline of my phone in the front pocket of my jeans.

I turned to Mom and told her about the text. She nodded and hit the play button, and as the movie started, I realized that she picked my favorite rom-com. I smiled and felt around until I found her hand. I gave it a squeeze and she reciprocated.

After five minutes, Leon started to make a gagging noise in the back of his throat. I looked over to him, but didn't scowl.

Leon didn't go back to the room we were in at the hospital, but met us outside when the treatment was over, his eyes red-rimmed and smile shaky.

His eyes were still slightly red, but it was fading. He caught me staring and stuck his tongue out. He wouldn't look me in the eye.

I appreciated Mom gesture, but I couldn't help but stare out the window, waiting for Riku.

I sighed and tried to focus on the movie when a roaring sound tore through the neighborhood. Dad turned in his seat to get a look at the road.

"Sounds like a sportster," he said, craning his neck to get a better look.

I snapped out of my stupor and stood to join Dad by the window. Suddenly, there was a streak of red and I blinked.

The red Convertible braked in front of the house and my forehead collapsed on itself as I thought.

And then it hit me.

"Holy shit," I said running out of the room and into the foyer. Dad yelled something about language, but I was out the door and running as the driver side door to the car opened.

I lunged and reached it just in time. Riku had one foot out and had turned.

He raised an eyebrow and looked up and down my body as I stood, crowding his space.

"Sora?" He said tentively, more like it was a question.

"Hiya, Riku. How are you?" I asked breathlessly, adrenaline making my limbs shaky.

"Fine. You?"

I laughed a little and he leaned back to study me.

"Great! Just great. Say! How 'bout we head out now?"

His other eyebrow raised and he stared at me curiously for a moment.

"I kind of wanted to meet your parents."

I opened my mouth to talk but wilted when he gently pushed my chest and got out of the car.

I licked my lips and looked over to the house to see three interested faces disappear from the front window. Riku closed the door and walked with me to the front door.

I saw a hand make a thumbs up in the window and I scowled hard, moving closer to Riku's tall form. It would be Leon to try and flirt with my Riku.

I bulked when I called him mine. He wasn't mine. Well, not yet.

Riku opened the door for me when we reached the porch. I smiled at him and walked in…

And was met by my family, all smiling and standing in a row. I blinked and turned to Riku, but was beat out by my Mom.

"Hello," she said, stepping foreword to shake his hand. "I'm Laney Bennett, Sora's mom."

"Hello, Mrs. Bennett. I'm Riku Price. Nice to meet you." I shivered at his deep voice. At the corner of my eye, Leon looked me over carefully.

She giggled and blushed.

"You, too. And this is my husband, Dan." They shook hands. "And my oldest son, Leon."

Leon stepped closer and took Riku's proffered hand, but didn't shake. He stared Riku down with a scowl and looked him over, like he was a homeless man trying to get into a five-star restaurant.

He suddenly let go of Riku's hand and turned away, headed upstairs to his room.

Mom apologized to Riku for Leon behavior; he graciously waved it off as nothing. But on his way past, Leon leaned down close to my ear and whispered, "When you get back, we're having a little chat."

I felt all the blood leave my face and turned to watch as Leon walked away.

Mom touched my arm and lead me or to Riku.

"You to have fun," she said, gently pushing us to the door.

Riku chuckled and opened the door for me.

We said goodbye on the porch and headed for his car. The shiny, red, _expensive_ car.

I hurried past Riku to get to the passenger door first. Him opening all these doors for me was making me feel like a woman. It was bad enough that I wanted to moan and spread my legs for him every time he spoke.

I slid into the car and closed the door. I rubbed my hands on the leather seat for a moment before buckling in.

"Nice car," I said as the engine literally roared to life.

Riku chuckled and checked his mirrors before pulling into the road.

"Thanks. It was a birthday present from my father." I looked up when I heard the dispassion in his voice when he mentioned his father. I let it slide only because he spoke.

"No offence," he started slowly.

I laughed and shook my head.

"Not the best way to start out, Riku."

He sighed, but smiled at me.

"No offence, but there doesn't seem to be very much to do here. So, I was thinking that we could just hang out at my place." He looked over at me when he finished.

I shrugged and asked if his dad knew I was coming over.

"It's just me staying there, Sora," was his answer.

I was hot all over, trying not to think about what would happen if we were alone.

"Where's your dad living, then?" I asked, voice higher a few octaves.

Riku looked at me quickly.

"New York."

I made a choking noise and looked at him incredulously.

"_Seriously?_ You're from _New York?_ Why'd you come _here?_"

I took a moment to look out the window and calm down.

"I didn't like New York," he said steadily. "Too much noise, too many people. I like towns like this." He waved his hand at the window. "My mom would always take me to places like this for vacations. Dad was always worried about his company to care about what I liked or wanted. And when she died, I was stuck in the city with him."

He shrugged and looked at me.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said quietly. "But didn't you have anyone else?"

Riku snorted and rested his elbow on the side window.

"My brother's just like Dad; too power hungry to think of anything else."

He suddenly stiffened and sighed.

"Sorry. This is supposed a nice time, not Riku's-family-issues time."

I smiled and shrugged.

"It's fine. This way, I get to know you better."

We smiled at each other before Riku braked and cut the engine. I blinked, then looked around to see where we were.

My mouth fell open and I turned my wide eyes to him.

"You're loaded, aren't you?"

Riku chuckled and got out of the car. My gaze went back to the row of condo townhouses he had parked in front of. Only rich tourists had ever stayed these. But as I watched Riku unlock the front door to his, I realized he felt completely at home.

I quickly followed him into the house and looked around. It was so… homey. It kind of reminded me of my house.

"Go make yourself comfortable. I'll go make some popcorn," Riku said, taking off his shoes and setting them on a small mat by the door.

I do the same and Riku points me to his blue couch. He walked past me to the kitchen to ruffle through the cupboards.

I sit down and cover my legs with a checkered blanket that had been hanging on the back of the couch.

A minute later, I heard the microwave start up, and Riku padded over and flopped down next to me. He put his feet up on the coffee table and grabbed the remote, clicking the power button and making the screen T.V. screen come to life.

And before you ask, it was a very big flat screen.

The play menu for a DVD was already up, and it made me wonder if he had planned this out.

I shook my head and settled in to watch the movie….

But it was hard. Riku's presence was doing awful things to my heart. And every time he chuckled, it went right to my pants.

I couldn't help but stare at him carefully. It helped that the sky was starting to darken, casting shadows around the room.

I looked at his lips and wondered what they would feel like against mine. Or what those big hands, which were currently holding out the popcorn, could do to my skin. And that body; what it feel like pressed against me.

I suddenly had a vision of being pressed down into the couch, Riku's body draped over mine and him kissing me, tasting like butter and popcorn and just _Riku_.

I shifted the blanket over my lap to hide my growing… attraction.

I tried really, really, _really_ hard to keep my eyes on the movie. But it didn't help that Riku was unconsciously moving closer to me, or that he was looking at me, or even that he was breathing.

"Hey, Sora." His voice rang out in a husky murmur and I shivered.

"Yeah?" I asked, forcing myself to turn and look at him.

But I didn't make it far. His lips were lightly touching half of mine and I stared at his open eyes.

We stayed like that for the longest time, staring at each other carefully, lips still touching, until Riku pulled away and sat back.

"I'm sorry," he said, loosely cover his mouth. "I shouldn't have done that."

I opened my mouth to say something, but my voice failed me.

So we finished the movie in silence, and as quickly as he could, Riku got me into the car and drove me back home.

He sped through town and when we reached my house, he parked in the same spot he did earlier.

He gave me a strained smile and looked out the windshield, waiting for me to run for it.

But I just sat there, looking at him.

"I don't want to go in," I said quietly when he looked at me.

"Why?"

"My brother wants to talk to me. He sounded pissed, and I don't need him lecturing me."

Riku nodded and looked at the steering wheel.

"I don't think he like me very much. Of course, I can't really blame him," he added quietly.

"I didn't mind that kiss, Riku," I said just as softly.

He turned to me quickly and stared.

"Then… can I kiss you again?"

I nodded and leaned closer to him. He gently caressed my jaw before bringing our lips together in a soft kiss.

He pulled back a little and looked at me in askance. I just pressed my lips to his again.

We kissed like that for almost five minutes; just light pressure and gentle nibbles. If one of us pulled back, the other would drag us back in with a smile.

At one point he mentioned my parents.

"Who?" was my answer.

He chuckled against my mouth.

…..

A/N: Awwwwwwwwwwww! Those two always make a cute couple! :3


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